


Without a Familiar

by AikoIsari



Series: Digimon No Verse [8]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autism Spectrum, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-02-12 11:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2108187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AikoIsari/pseuds/AikoIsari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, it was a painful accident. They never crossed in time as friends, so now they meet as enemies. The mage and the familiar are opposed and yet the life has still been given, whether either of them know it or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Random Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, quick backstory. I had this idea... a while ago, don't really remember when it came up in my head. But... here it is for remi's randomAU! contest. The AU was relationship!AU, where a relationship exists where it didn't in canon, and vice versa, or a different relationship occurs between two canon characters. It's kind of fun. I'm not sure if this has been explored in the FFN fics but if it has, oops. Oh well, running for it anyway. Let me know what you think guys!
> 
> Also, this is a bit of a slow-going fic. I challenged myself to not breach three thousand words per chapter, just to spread things out a little. Anyway, here goes! Let me know how you feel! Even the criticism!

Chapter One: Random Tears

She didn't save his life.

She might have meant to, at one time, but she did not. And perhaps that was the biggest mistake of all.

She didn't heal him, and perhaps she ought to have done that. Instead now, he looked down upon her, staring at her with stone eyes and a heartless little smile on sewn lips.

This was a man who had no mercy. This was a man who had nothing left to lose.

Perhaps this was her fault. She should have been more observant. But she wasn't. And now she had no one, and nothing.

Not even a master. Her master didn't need her anymore.

She should have been scared, horrified at being abandoned. But that was a sensation she had known since the day her egg had hatched. A horrible, heart-rending loneliness. And it didn't hurt as much as it could, and she did not hate her master as she should. Because now she was strong, and she could defend herself from him and those like him.

Now she was strong, and her heart was locked up tight.

No one could open this box.

Much like no one could save Wizarmon from himself.

They could have been friends, but now they weren't.

That was just the way it was.

Tailmon had nothing to regret, because what could have been, she would never know.

She could still be hurt by his whispers, however, almost believe in his lies. But then she would snap out of it and run.

The only thing she had left to lose was her life, and no matter how much sadness touched her, she wasn't ready to give it up.

…

She didn't know why she was crying, today.

Hikari rarely cried for herself. Not because she did not think it was good and healthy, but she had a very happy life, and thus, hardly saddened herself enough to be well and truly needing of a good cry. Except at homework assignments but no one could be blamed for that.

Today, however, she felt absolutely  _chilly_ , like the time her brother had been caught in a thunderstorm in the middle of soccer practice and they couldn't go home because the streets had been so awful. He had to make her sit at the bus stop while he flailed his arms for a taxi. By the end of it, they had both been a couple of sniveling messes for their parents and every time lightning had struck outside the windows they had each cried for a good five minutes the whole ride home.

It felt just like that, only somehow much bigger, and emptier, like her stomach had been replaced with an organ made of pure ice.

She cried in silence, pretending it was a part of the unusual summer cold that had lowered her spirits so. She was the best at lies, or misdirection. One had to be, when they were crazy.

And she was. She was most certainly crazy. Had to be, saw things on the TV no one else did, heard voices while walking from school to home and back again, now that it was safe enough to do it alone. She managed to remember things that her brother couldn't, which was odd because he was so much bigger than she.

That was what crazy people were like. They had to be like that, or people wouldn't look at her so funny.

Not that this bothered her too much. It was like being bothered by random tears. Sometimes you could just be sad and couldn't help yourself. Or you were just sad for someone else. Well, as long as her parents weren't worried about leaving her here like this, she supposed it could be fine. It wasn't like her friends would come over, or Onii-chan would be here to worry. That was good.

That said... she was still crying... but if she closed her eyes, maybe she could think about the crying and... well, not  _stop_  it, but make it easier. Hikari had done it before, so it should work now. It had to. If it didn't, well, she didn't know what she would do, but she would think of something.

She was little. Sometimes these things just... happened, according to Onii-chan. But she was eight. That wasn't very little anymore, now was it? Or perhaps it was. How did you define little, anyway?

She did not wipe the tears away, nor did she cry out at the sudden pain in her chest. No one would hear it, so it would be silly to make noise. Or maybe someone would. She didn't think so, though. She was quiet so the voices would keep talking most of the time. Understanding what they said was important in her mind because knowing what they planned to do would make it easier to adjust to them. Knowing their thoughts and feelings, and thus, knowing the source of the sadness, would help her to bear with the sadness of the other.

For Hikari, in all her eight-year-old worldly wisdom, realized she was simply sad for someone else. Knowing this made it all the easier for her to close her eyes and imagine the cold pit in her stomach becoming bigger, quite like an ocean wave that would swallow her and make the tears blend with the sea. Knowing this allowed her to smile a little and sit up straight in her bed, and banish the sensation of cold pajamas and sweaty skin (she was still sick after all) to think of that cold water.

It was easy then, to feel that coldness, to let it be slippery like a frog's outside on her hands. The tears began to taper away, replaced with a sensation that could be like floating in the sky. Well, that could be fun. She always did want to fly.

Or maybe this wasn't flying. Maybe this was running fast enough to fly. Was there a difference? She was insane, what did she know?

The cold wasn't going away, which meant that the sadness and the cold had to be from a person, which meant... the best thing to do now was...

"Hello!"

It was only polite to greet someone you couldn't see after all.


	2. To Be Strange

**_Chapter Two: To Be Strange_ **

" _Hello!"_

The cheerfully voiced greeting in her head caused the white cat to trip and nearly crash into a nearby tree. She shook her head, trying to clear it, as well as looking around. That was not normal, not right. It was an enemy, had to be. One of  _that thing's_ accomplices, she would bet her Holy Ring.

" _What's 'that thing'? And you shouldn't have tripped, dust could fly into your ears and nose and brain and then you would be in a bit of trouble."_

Tailmon pulled herself to her paws and took off running again. She doubted the mental voice, as... distant as it sounded, was going anywhere. It was probably a taunt, to remind her she wasn't safe anywhere she went, so it would be better to just give herself up for punishment and not be such a coward.

" _That person seems very unkind, for you to think of them like that. You should keep running from them, whoever they are."_

"Seem to be doing that, in case you hadn't noticed!"

Why was she talking to it? That wouldn't get her anywhere. Or maybe she had finally lost her mind. Too many knocks down those damn stairs, probably.

" _No, no. You're wrong. I'm the crazy one, everyone says so. You just are listening to me. That's very nice of you. It's like having a friend. Are you my friend?"_

She listened to the voice again, and it, as odd as it was, seemed no more than curious. In fact, it didn't really seem to know who it was talking to. "Who are you?"

" _Me?"_  it said.  _"I'm a person. Are you a voice from the air? Or were you on the TV? Because they talk on the TV, all roaring and sad because something is wrong. I try to talk back, but I can't do it when my family is home because they will get scared. Isn't that silly? To be scared of something they don't even see? Well, you probably think that's okay because you aren't like me."_

She didn't stop running, but Tailmon found herself listening still, listening to this strange, high voice babble in her mind about things that were rather rare, like families, and televisions, and insanity. Digimon were not insane. No, they always acted on impulses from their cores, and while that didn't make morality any more verifiable, it certainly destroyed the idea of therapy being a necessary evil.

She thought this voice, or person, whoever they were, needed some therapy.

" _I do,"_ the voice assured.  _"But explaining that to Mama and Papa and Onii-chan won't work. Where I live, these things are supposed to be settled at home and not given to another person. It's some pride thing. Very strange. But... hey, maybe you can be my therapist. Then you won't cry anymore and I won't cry anymore and we'll both be over here."_

"Well, it would help if I knew where you  _were_ ," she muttered, before shaking her head. Tailmon could not believe what she was doing. She really just had no clue what was wrong with her.

There was a small chuckle from a foot behind her. "Talking to yourself already, Tailmon? It's only been a few days."

Tailmon hissed, rising to her back paws and raising her fists near her face. "Stalking me already,  _Wizarmon_? It's only been a  _few days_!" A few days, her tail. It had been almost a month.

" _Oh, you two must not like each other,"_ the voice said, continuing to sound merely interested.  _"Or maybe he likes you and can't show it to you because he's a boy."_

Tailmon crouched back down, ears back and tail lashing at the air. She didn't bother to answer as the broken sun on the man's staff was pointed at her head. "What can I say?" he said through a once-sewn shut mouth. "You're enchanting, my dear."

"Cut the charisma," she spat, crouching on her hind legs, which wobbled from exhaustion. "Am I going to get to kill you now, or do you have a lengthy anecdote I can use to get out of here?"

The man chuckled, adjusting his violet hat. His staff hand remained trained on her, glowing and sparking gold. "There is the  _third_  option..." he began.

Tailmon merely moved, slashing claws down the elbow and ducking from the free gloved fist coming towards her head to kick him straight in the throat.  _Is that a clear enough answer for you?_ She snapped at his mind, not caring if he could read them or not. Not waiting, she took off into the nearby bushes.

 _Too soft,_ she cursed herself.  _You could have killed him right then and there and been safe for a while._

" _But they would notice when he didn't come back, so then you would have more people after you. Why are people after you?"_

Crazy kid. Wait... what? "I'm absolutely terrible at sticking to protocol and being an absolutely horrible living being. My boss didn't like that, so I left. He didn't like that either." She leaped to a tree and pulled herself to jump from one to another. Cloaked bastard could fly so she really had to scat.

Shame. He had seemed so nice the day they had met in the castle.

" _Everybody looks nice until they pull your tail."_

"Okay, seriously, are you okay? Do you need help or something?" She really shouldn't be so concerned about a disembodied voice when she was fleeing for her life, but all things considered, it was better than being afraid. Which she  _wasn't._

There was only a pause before the voice answered.  _"I have a cold."_

Tailmon wanted to stop and facepalm. "What does that have to do with this?"

" _Well, you asked if I was okay..."_

Tailmon bolted back to the ground and sighed. "Forget it... where are you?" Wherever they were was probably better than here... but there were a lot of places that were better than here.

" _Not near you. Unless there are lots of giant buildings and a lot of humans walking around you."_

"You're  _human_?" Well, that explained a lot.

" _And you're like Koromon!"_

"... Oh, you've  _got_  to be kidding me."

…

Hikari sat up a little straighter on her bed, and her cat mewed its irritation. Sorry, Miko. She reached out and stroked her head, allowing the cat to rest back in her lap. What was so strange about knowing what Koromon was? Or what Koromon was like? She had been very easily able to communicate with Koromon back then. Was that a bad thing? Probably, since Onii-chan didn't remember.

"Miss who is like Koromon?"

" _I'm_ not  _a Koromon."_

She found that the speaker seemed a little sensitive. Or maybe unhappy. Considering that person was chasing her, it was probably unhappy. She wondered what she could do about it.

Hikari thought and thought, and there was no answer in her head. Rather depressing, if she did say so herself. This was a person that needed help, and though she was sick and trapped in orange pajamas, she should be able to.

How?

There was a mental shriek of pain, and now she really wanted to know how, because there was a burning at her toes and fingers and it did not feel good.

She closed her eyes and thought, thought to a time when she could only speak with a whistle, a time that had a big pink blob and ate a lot of food. She thought she remembered being  _different_ then. It was before being crazy, but after being someone else. Someone who cried a lot but still went on a fun adventure.

Something had been different then. She just didn't know what that difference was. It was very strange.

She thought she could remember  _being_ that way... but had she ever  _not_  been that way?

Hmm... now she had gone and confused herself.

Hikari pouted to a silent room, then opened her eyes. "Miko, do you know how I am crazy?"

Her cat mewed. The animal had been around since she was born. She probably did know, but couldn't explain it. No one could explain crazy. And no one should, unless they were like her. Which was sad. People should not be like her. They should be strong and brave and cool like her Onii-chan. Well, he wasn't that cool. He was just strong.

There should still be more people like him, though.

There was a sudden jolt in her chest, and the jolt of energy ran from her chest to her limbs and to her head and it  _hurt._ She didn't cry, or panic, because that could scare the Miss-who-was-like-Koromon or make her even more sad and she wasn't sure either of them could handle more sadness.

Her brother often thought her timid. She was. Timid didn't mean weak. It didn't mean  _dumb_. She could do things her Onii-chan definitely couldn't.

So she did.

Hikari, with her own tiny, mental hands, grabbed onto the pain. She clutched it between her fingers and began to tug. She did this very often, when her Onii-chan was sad and she felt it, or when a friend had hurt herself and she could feel it. So while beneath her image of her tight hands, the pain and the person in pain wriggled, she clutched it like a tug-of-war rope.

It didn't instantly give, of course. There was no fun in one of those games if it was just  _over._

But in order to win, she knew she had to do one important thing:

"Miss! Miss, you need to be strong right now! I need to keep tugging and to do that, you need to let me. This will help! It really will!"

…

Through the pain, Tailmon hadn't been able to hear the high little voice anymore.

She had to admit, for a third-rate dropout of a mage, the guy was  _good_  at lightning magic.

"I'll have you know I was kicked out _(1)_ ," Wizarmon chuckled at her thoughts. "I was just too curious for my own good."

She coughed and pulled herself up to her hind paws again. Good thing the guy was easy to kick around. He was just as stubborn as she was. "I don't know much about educations," she muttered. "But isn't that something to be ashamed of?"

"I used to be," he admitted, smiling. "But when you're alone long enough," he raised his staff and electricity wrapped around it once more. "You really learn to not care anymore."

"I'd sympathize if you stopped zapping me," Tailmon said dryly, and threw herself forward, sinking her claws into his stitched mouth. He screamed as she clawed at her face and she only scowled, leaping towards his staff and snatching it. "Thanks for the present!" Turning to run, she only made it a few steps before a ball of lightning struck her in the back.

She hit the ground, hearing him tsk through bleeding lips. " _You_ are incredibly stubborn."

"Birdramon of a feather," she croaked as his boot stamped down on her back.

"Cute. Now, why don't we go make a plea bargain?" His blue eyes twinkled at her as he spoke, moving his foot back to hold her by her tail. "Let's face it, between you and chibi-bat back there, I think I know who I would rather see alive." Wizarmon almost smiled with sympathy. "It's not like you're leaving out of a sense of justice or anything. I know you. You take pity, but that's as far as you go. You left me there, you know. I saw you walk past, just like everybody else."

Tailmon hissed and laughed. "Guilt tripping already? Just cut the banter and kill me. Seriously, I know already that I'm a bad hero, but you're a worse villain."

" _He won't kill you! I won't let him!"_

She went still, a look of surprise on her face, and a shudder wracked her small, white frame. Then, his foot touched nothing but air as her body turned to static and disappeared.

For a moment, Wizarmon stared at where Tailmon had been. Then he laughed. "You just never stop surprising me."

With another chuckle and a sigh, he turned back to the darkened castle. "He's really not going to be happy with me, is he?" Twirling his staff, the man began to walk. "Suppose I should take my time. He's probably going to need a few new soldiers anyhow." He laughed, rubbing the red off of his face. "Never heard of a ruler of darkness so afraid of the  _light_  before..."

Whistling a merry tune, the mage began to stroll to what was now his home, back to his master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) According to the Digimon Adventure novelization (credit goes to onkei-kun for their translations of the first two volumes that I need to purchase), Wizarmon was banished from his original Digital World, Witchelny, because he read (and stole!) the forbidden Book. His form was changed to what he is now, as a result, which is Wizarmon. I have no idea what his original form was, unfortunately. If anybody has an idea or wants the link to the site where I found the translations, please drop me a PM.


	3. Different Sights

Tailmon woke on something soft and warm. Her fur felt a bit sticky, like someone had rubbed paste into the hairs. "What... happened?"

"Hello, miss kitty cat!"

At the voice, she bolted up, looking around and expecting trees and dirt, or worse, castle wall. But instead she found herself in a quieter, more muted setting, curled on a bed of all things. Pain racked her body and two hands gently pushed her back down. "You were all burned when you got here, so you really shouldn't move. The burn stuff is still trying to work. I couldn't wash you because you're a cat and all, so I thought you would hate it because Miko does."

The words weren't said very quickly, but nonetheless, the speaker seemed to be thinking faster than she was able to comprehend. "Who... are you?" Tailmon tried for the simplest, most understandable question. She wasn't sure which direction to look in, as the voice was too close to her head for her to tell.

Thankfully, the owner of the voice then moved, revealing a furless face with light eyes and an odd smile. "Hikari," she said, or at least it sounded like a she. They also sounded familiar, but Tailmon was a bit too groggy to make sense of it all. "You and I were talking before, you know? I'm surprised you were a kitty-cat. Koromon became a really big dinosaur but you are nice and small, did you know that? Did you? You probably did; you certainly seem smarter than I am." She fell silent and stepped back a little. Tailmon blinked, able to envision the other more thoroughly now. Small, baggy clothes, pale, sweat-drenched skin, harmless in appearance...

A human. A human had brought her here... to where?

Well, now that she thought about it, the answer was obvious: to the human world. Only the human world could be so tranquil for so long. At least, that was what the legends said. She doubted it could be that great.

At least it was quiet, to combat the ringing in her brain.

"I like kitties," Hikari suddenly said, as if the thought had just popped into her brain. "Or... no, that's not right... not like that." She paused, and Tailmon watched her face scrunch. Now that she listened, yes, this person did sound familiar. They had been talking pretty well, for what she thought was a blip of insanity... and then something had happened, and everything had gone blacker than that  _bastard's_  bats.

"That's a bad word," Hikari noted. "But that person is probably bad enough to deserve it."

Tailmon stiffened. "You... You can read my mind?" Humans were  _not_ supposed to do that.

Who  _was_ this kid?

The girl nodded, then shook her head just as fast. "I guess I can... well... maybe. I'm crazy, so maybe I'm just already thinking what you're saying."

Crazy? Maybe... no. It was certainly... different. But it wasn't crazy. It was... unfocused, distracted. She seemed like she was trying to stay in the same general thought process as Tailmon herself, and it wasn't not working... she wasn't sure what was going on here.

"No one knows," Hikari said. "It's better to say I'm crazy though. People don't ask when you say that, unless you're a grown up, and even then." She then put a finger to her lips. "You are probably a hungry cat, aren't you? Do you like melon?"

Tailmon tilted her head. "I've... never had it?" She had  _heard_  of it, certainly. Lots of Digimon enjoyed it. She didn't have much time for enjoyment; she had been busy. Searching... searching for someone.

But who?

Hikari nodded. "I'll get you some, since there are no pieces of fish and Miko is protective of her food." She walked out of the room, and a smaller cat slipped inside in her place. It meowed and Tailmon glanced at it.

"I don't know either," she told the other cat. Again, the cat meowed and she gave a sympathetic wince. Though she did not entirely speak ordinary animal, even she could speak close confidante. The cat left the room again, nosing the door open to accommodate the human and her plate of fruit. Oh, this was a melon. Or a type of one. She hadn't lived in many places with them.

That was probably because she had lived in too many places as it was.

Hikari set the fruit down on the bed. It smelled rather nice, a little sweet and watery. She nosed at it and reached for it with her gloved paws. Then she paused, looking at them. Could she even pick it up with these gloves? "Can you not hold it?" the human asked.

"I don't want to crush it," she admitted. The red fruit's innards- did she really need to think innards?- seemed fragile, like crumbling ice. If she tried to grip it, it might fall apart.

Hikari peered at her. "You must be awful strong to worry about things like that," she said. "My brother is strong, but even he doesn't think about that sort of stuff." She picked up a slice in her too-small hands. Now that Tailmon looked, the two of them were almost the same size. Why was that? Hikari lifted the slice of watermelon to her lips. "Neh, here. I'll hold it."

Tailmon almost refused. It was degrading to be fed, but she was tired, and the smell was nice.

So she took a bite and suddenly blinked. "It doesn't taste like much," she realized, wiping her mouth.

Hikari giggled. "It  _is_ watermelon. Water isn't supposed to taste like stuff."

Tailmon laughed. "You're right."

She shouldn't feel safe, or relaxed, or like everything was going to be okay.

But she did. For the first time since she had hatched, Tailmon felt okay.

* * *

Tailmon was sleeping.

According to Miko, cats were supposed to sleep a lot. But she was never entirely sure what Miko was saying, and her father always looked at her funny when she talked to the cat, even though it was how she knew not to take out the chicken bites in the pet food.

Hikari guessed, as she moved Tailmon to sit at her pillow so she could go back to sleep later, that being hurt, Tailmon would sleep more than normal cats. Which was okay. She still needed to figure out what to say to her parents. She didn't want to get rid of her.

She yawned, rubbing her eyes. When she had saved Tailmon, it had made her very sleepy. But she couldn't sleep now, Mama and Papa were supposed to call before they got to see her grandma. If she didn't at least  _try_ to answer them, it would make them worried and they might come back home.

Sitting outside of the bedroom, Hikari turned on the news. She liked the news. The creatures from Koromon's world were usually on it these days. But she was never sure if that was a good thing or not. It probably wasn't, since Koromon had had to leave.

Her chest hurt, and she looked away from the television, even as a serpent rose up from the sea and roared, to the obliviousness of the newscaster.

Hikari sighed. She was crazy; this was a fact. But how come nobody could  _see_? Bad things could happen, and the grown-ups saw only what they wanted to. That was why she had wanted to go on the camping trip. Something important was going to happen there, she had been sure.

But she wasn't there now, and Tailmon was here.

Maybe there was something important about today, after all.

She switched the channel to a cartoon, and let it play, flopping to her side on the couch and closing her eyes. This was harder than she thought... though what was  _this_  anyway?

It was probably staying awake... cause being sleepy was okay... and sleeping was good for being sick... maybe it would be okay for her parents to miss her while she slept for a bit...

Her breathing had begun to slow when she heard the air conditioner click off with the television. Hikari opened her eyes as the artificial wind stopped, sitting up slowly. "Blown fuse?" she said to no one, figuring Tailmon would sleep through it. It certainly seemed like something a blown fuse would do, except it wouldn't be so peaceful and smooth like that. It usually made a bigger fuss than that.

Then the microwave began to flicker, the small monitor speeding through numbers too fast for her to tell what they were. The VCR display soon did the same, a strange whirring noise filling the air. Hikari heard no thump from the bed and decided to leave Tailmon be. This felt familiar, like...

_The screen was covered in red zeroes and ones and swelling, swelling with something like a big bruise. Towards her, it was coming closer, and she reached out her arms..._

Another thing like Koromon. This day really  _was_  special.

Hikari couldn't help but smile a bit.

As she did, on the other side of the living room, the computer turned on with a click. The screen was blue, which Hikari distinctly remembered her father telling Taichi was a  _bad sign._ She was still learning how to type, but even she remembered blue screens were like death, or something.

So she went over to it and stared at it. There was no white text that she didn't understand, or even any text at all. Weird. Not crazy, though. Not yet.

Then the screen winked out and turned to a grainy black. Now, green hiragana and katakana began to make their way onto the screen.

_You are not alone._

Well, she knew that. There was a Tailmon kitty over on her bed, and she had her parents and brother and his friends and her friends. Of course she wasn't alone.

_You are not safe._

She wasn't? Was Tailmon going to hurt her? But she seemed really nice.

_You must become more._

Become more? Become more than what? This monitor sure was saying weird things.

_Would you like to change your destiny?_

Hikari blinked, and looked at her tiny hands. She wasn't even sure how destiny  _worked_.

"I don't know," she said to the screen and the words vanished. For a moment, the place marker flickered in and out of her vision, as though not sure what to say.

Then new words crossed the screen. _Would you like to save your new friend?_

Well, the answer to that was simple enough. "Yes! She is nice and a cat and someone was hurting her badly and I want them to stop!" Well, that was a bit more than  _simple_ but that was okay. The person on the other side needed to understand and people just didn't seem to understand unless you talked. It was dumb, but it was true.

The words left the screen again, but this time they scattered like tossed glitter for a craft project.

The room was silent but for the beeping of the computer tower and then Hikari frowned. "Um..."

The monitor turned white, quickly becoming so bright, the little girl had to shield her eyes. As she did, something flew into her open left palm. It was warm, but it didn't burn. It cooled as the light faded, fitting smoothly into her hand. It was a strange sort of octagon with the diagonal sides curved and a screen, a small, pale green screen. It felt nice though, like a smooth pebble that you kept in your pocket instead of skipped in a pond.

Once more, the black screen wrote.  _Your light is in your grasp._

The computer shut down and the air conditioner and television returned to normal. Hikari clicked it all off, and stared silently at the small, light-colored device in her hand.

Then she let out a small yawn. That was exciting and all, but so were naps!

Weird device in hand, she went into her room, and shut the door, curling up with Tailmon and Miko for a nice rest.


	4. Stranger Dangers

Chapter Four: Stranger Dangers

Tailmon awoke feeling safe.

Instantly, she felt there was something wrong here.

She opened her eyes slowly, looking to see she had not been taken from the quiet, semi-cool house she had woken up in earlier, but remained on top of the pale blanket. Tailmon exhaled and relaxed, as much as she knew that might not be the wisest course of action. It was strange to feel safe, but to break it didn't seem very fun or wise either.

Swiveling her head to her left, she saw the girl who had patched her. Her name was hard to remember, vaguely ending with an "ee" sound and very bright. The girl looked somehow smaller than she already was, cheeks a little flushed and hair sticking to her face. It looked rather uncomfortable. Was she... sick?

Digimon rarely got sick. They got infected by viruses or wild programs, but not sick. Their data was forever altered, they got used to it, their lives flipped upside down... it was rather like evolving, but with more to lose.

That would be rather awful, if this strange human had that happen to them.

 _Stupid,_ she scolded herself.  _It's just a human. Who cares what happens to one of them?_

Well... this human had saved her life. No one in Vamdemon's business was in the nature of helping one another. It was why there weren't many of them left in that castle.

So... this was unusual.

She couldn't say nice, because she still didn't know the girl's reasons, which were bound to be strange because the girl herself was strange. Yet... Tailmon couldn't say they were bad reasons, or this girl was bad person. Just different.

Then again, Tailmon had never really met a  _good_ person in her life.

She wouldn't recognize one if it dropped dead in her paws.

Deciding she was too tired to make any real decisions, Tailmon went back to sleep.

If she curled a little closer to the sleeping girl, well, no one would really notice.

…

She woke again to the sound of a door opening.

Instantly, her claws were gleaming in the sunlight, and though her legs still felt heavy, Tailmon believed that she could at least trip an intruder. Cat or no, she was still an Adult level Digimon, which could easily damage some _human_ intruder. If it was a human intruder and not a Digimon intruder anyway. After all, if she had somehow gotten here, who was to say some other Digimon could not?

Tailmon rather liked being safe here. She didn't want to get rid of that safety.

… It had nothing to do with that human, except she owed her a debt. Really, that was all. The girl had saved her life. She would just protect hers until she could find a way back home.

And do what?

She ignored that part of her brain. Come to think of it, why was the human left alone here in the first place? She said she was sick, and there was no one here checking on her or anything. Did humans just randomly trust their small ones alone in their homes?

It didn't seem like that was a great idea now, since there was someone invading the house.

Slowly, carefully, she pawed her way from Hikari's side to the door. Her limbs hurt as they stretched, but it was bearable compared to the many falls down the stairs.

" _Don't look at me with those eyes."_

Well, she certainly can't now, can't she?

Bastard.

Hikari made a noise in her sleep as Tailmon touched the floor. She glanced at the little girl again, but her breathing didn't change. Tailmon, for reasons she didn't understand, smiled. A peaceful human. A weird, kind, peaceful human.

But weren't humans strange? Some called them evil.

 _Not like I'm a saint either,_  she reminded herself, tearing her gaze away from the sleeping child.  _I'm just going to protect her because I have nowhere else to go. I'm just going to keep her alive because she was nice. That's all. I don't have to like her; I don't have to understand her..._

"Tailmon?"

Hikari was looking at her, big eyes too solemn and young. She was looking at the way the cat's ears were stiff and claws poised to strike a moving figure. Tailmon hesitated, her tail beginning to swish back and forth. What would this little girl think if she hurt someone? Did it really matter? In a back part of her mind, the part that wasn't coiled to strike the intruder felt a deep-heaviness at her joints, sluggish and solemn. She was going to make that child watch murder.

Well... she might not.

Maybe just a little bit of blood. She had claws; it couldn't be helped.

"Someone's here, huh?"

Her voice was thick, as though spoken through cotton, but she was trying to raise her head anyway to look at Tailmon, see what she was going to do.

Tailmon paused, searching for the words that would pacify a human, or a young Child. She wasn't sure if she had ever heard any. Well... maybe this one would be okay with her being only half-truthful. "Yeah."

"Are you going to hurt him?"

"If I have to."

Hikari nodded, which looked unusual against a pillow. "No really bad things though, right?"

What on Earth did that... oh. "I can try."

Hikari nodded again, sitting up slowly. "Be careful, okay Tailmon? You're still hurt."

Why would she have to be careful? She wasn't the human. She wasn't even all that weak! Perhaps Hikari was mocking her. No... she wouldn't. She was... worried about her. When had someone ever been like that?

" _Come on now, you have to get up or he'll make it worse."_

That was a person who pretended to be kind once. But he couldn't control himself then, and had fought her. She had been played. She would not make that mistake again. This human was worried about her, yes, but that didn't mean she wouldn't use her. Or if she wouldn't, someone else would try.

What if someone tried to use Hikari?

Did that even matter?

She grimaced and nodded. "I'll be okay." She shouldn't be thinking so much. That wasn't what she did. Just obey orders, just survive, and everything would become clear.

But she had no orders anymore.

Shaking her head, she creaked the door open. The intruder, since here must have been one, didn't react, too busy looking at that refrigerator.

Tailmon examined him from behind. Did he belong here, maybe? He seemed weak, barely older than Hikari. No... he smelled similar to Hikari, only more like dirt and rough skin. She sniffed again, and grimaced. That was a Digimon's smell. Her eyes darted around until she caught sight of a pink blob on a counter. She grimaced, tail lashing, and crouched to stroke. She leaped on top with a yowl, crashing into the pink blob and rolling with it to land on the sofa. The human turned, clearly surprised but she didn't pay too much attention to it as the Digimon was biting at the bandages on her chest and flailing its pink ears like it wanted to slap her and didn't know what the flying heck it was doing.

That was good. It didn't need to. She was the stronger one, she just had to coil up enough energy into her claws-

Then she was yanked by the scruff of her neck and pulled back, thrown to hit that screen window. Or was it a door? She didn't much care. Tailmon hissed at the human, who was looking at her with abject horror. What, did he expect her not to attack him? Or was he surprised to see her?

Did Vamdemon already know she was here?

She couldn't risk that, definitely not. With a snarl, the cat threw herself forward once more, only to meet a white-gloved hand. Darn it. Her common sense must be going.

"Who the heck are you?" the human shouted, brown eyes glowing hot with anger, or maybe fear. She saw the sweat drip down his face, the way his teeth clenched, and knew it was fear.

Tailmon smiled. "What's it to you?" Her chest ached, like it had been electrocuted all over again. Damn it... that had been  _stupid_ of her. But she had been so close... should have counted on the human actually catching on faster than it took to beat down an enemy. Her claws scrabbled at the human's bare arm and he dropped her, giving her the chance to scramble back towards the door to where Hikari was.

No matter what, she definitely couldn't let him through. Whoever he was, even if he smelled like Hikari, Tailmon would not let him pass. There was no way the girl could defend herself. She talked to her  _cat_  for goodness' sake.

"Back off," she snapped, raising her claws again.

"Taichi, stay back!" The blob squeaked. A Koromon. Didn't see many of those off of File Island. Heck, didn't see anything weaker than a Child off File Island most of the time. "She's dangerous." No kidding, bubble-breath.

"Tailmon?" She froze, hearing Hikari shuffling towards the door. "What's going on?"

"Stay in there, Hikari" She snapped without thinking. "I'll take care of these guys!"

"Take care of who?"

Tailmon desperately wished to be taller so her tail could hold the door shut but Hikari was already easing the door open a crack.

Hikari paused. "Onii-chan? What are you doing home?" She could feel the girl smiling, very vacant, not surprised, but merely curious. Were all human children like that?

Wait... she did know this human? Okay... Tailmon flushed. Oops.

Adrenaline gone, Tailmon slumped to the floor. Hikari opened the door fully and lifted her up. "No more walking for a while," she scolded. "You were hurt, remember?"

"Unfortunately..."she muttered. She could certainly  _feel_  it now.

The other human had slowly moved to pick up Koromon, puzzled. "Hi...Hikari..." it began. He? Maybe? "Who... who is that?"

Hikari shrugged. "Tailmon. I brought her here. Tailmon, this is Taichi, my brother."

What.


	5. Complicated Predicaments

Chapter Five: Complicated Predicaments

After a few minutes of Hikari patiently (at least it seemed patient to her but who knew?) explaining that humans had siblings as well as parents, the four of them were sitting on the couch in one form or another. Tailmon had her head in Hikari's lap, and her eyes closed. She wasn't relaxed, not exactly, but she wasn't tempted to go punch the living daylights out of Babies anymore. If it made her this sore... goodness what did that bastard  _do_ to her?

"Shocked you real bad," Hikari said aloud to her and Tailmon opened her eyes in mild surprise. She had said that aloud? "No, you didn't." Hikari gave her that same vacant smile and for a moment Tailmon wondered if all humans could read minds, considering this one seemed to be able to. She looked at the other person -Taichi, she probably needed to remember that so she didn't get him to attack her or something- and he didn't look nearly as serene as his little sister (that was a new phrase in her vocabulary. Humans must make a lot of words. How did they not get mixed up?). Instead he seemed to be more confused than Tailmon herself.

"Hikari?" Taichi began. "What is going on?" His hand was resting on Koromon's... well, body and the little creature was glaring at her. Tailmon ignored it. Even if she was injured, he was still an over-sized balloon with eyes. Not exactly as threatening as he probably thought he was.

Hikari made a strange noise and it was probably some sort of a sigh. Something like that anyway, except it was belied by... exhaustion? She was probably still sick and tired. Tailmon watched her eyes instead, watched them dim until they wore the same vacancy as her smile, tired and overdue. Her shoulders hunched a little, like she didn't really mean to, but it was an old habit.

As if hoping to be ignored.

Then Hikari shrugged. "Tailmon needed help, so I helped her."

Taichi stared, and despite herself, Tailmon started giggling. It was helpless, mewling laughter than she didn't remember ever hearing herself make.

Wait... laughing? How could she not remember laughter?

"Tailmon?" She looked at Hikari, realizing that her own laughter had trailed off into silent puzzlement. "Are you okay?"

"Probably not," she answered without thinking and then caught herself. Hikari was like a human Child level, possibly younger. She had to lie... well it was too late now. Hikari merely stroked the spot behind her ears instead of commenting, which was nice, she supposed, if disturbing. Taking that sort of comment lightly wasn't normal for a kid... was it?

Taichi certainly didn't. "Is she... a Digimon?" he said, deciding to drop it, much in the same way, Tailmon realized, that his sister had just done.

Hikari looked at her. "Is that what you are?"

Tailmon nodded. "A Digital Monster, or Digimon, yes. Tailmon, Adult Level, Holy Beast type."  _Though how holy I am is debatable..._

"You're an  _Adult_?" Koromon squeaked, half in horror, half because that was his natural voice.

She raised an eyebrow. "What, you expected someone taller?"

"Actually, yes!"

She snorted. "You're not all that threatening yourself, bubble boy."

Koromon grinned. "But I'm still cute, aren't I?"

Taichi laughed, sweat dripping from his forehead. "I'm not sure that's something for a man to be proud of Koromon."

"Eh, why is that a problem?"

Hikari giggled, petting Tailmon's fur once more. Tailmon watched her eyes slowly lose the glazed look as she laughed. Taichi had been distracted, Tailmon realized. They had all been. Pretty easily too.

_It looks like this kid is kind of dangerous, after all._

…

Hikari heard that thought, didn't question if it came from Tailmon or her own head. It probably did come from Tailmon because it certainly sounded like it. It sounded more mature than her, which was fine. She giggled again, watching her brother through almost-closed eyes.

No, Hikari, you have to keep this up. Keep distracting him from answers you can't give.

She reminded herself of that and looked around carefully, busying herself with tying the rest of the bandages on Tailmon's chest. Then she smiled. "Okay, I'm done now."

"Neh, Hikari, where did you learn to do that?"

Koromon sounded so cute! She remembered that before she was crazy, he was cute... and also ate cat food. She wasn't going to feed him Miko's food this time. She knew better now. It wasn't like he wouldn't eat it again... but it wasn't nice to get all scratched up like last time.

Hikari lifted Tailmon by her armpits. The cat squirmed at first, but then stopped, shuddering a little. She wondered why that was. Maybe she was just uncomfortable? Maybe? She didn't want to ask. It didn't seem right. Carefully, she moved the cat to be sitting straight in her lap. Tailmon frowned. "Hikari? Koromon asked you something."

"Mm!" She knew that, but Tailmon's head had to have been uncomfortable on her lap. It was a  _big_  kitty head after all. "I sometimes had to bandage Onii-chan when he got hurt in soccer. Then Sora-san took over for me. She's really nice, a bit strung-up, but nice."

Taichi had flushed pink when Koromon gave this very happy nod. He knew Sora-san too then? That was good. It would be bad for Koromon to look after Taichi all by himself. Hikari continued. "Why are you here with Koromon, Onii-chan? Was camp canceled?"

She was worried. Did Mom and Dad know he was here? Or was it a secret? If it was a secret, why would it be? She kept these questions in her head. She couldn't let her Onii-chan worry about her panicking, if something was clearly wrong.

And there must have been something wrong because he hemmed, hesitated. Her brother was not supposed to waver. Or at least he wasn't meant to do it all that often, because he needed to be strong. That was the impression she had gotten from Mom: her brother had to be strong and she had to help him stay that way.

"Onii-chan?"

"Ah..." He caught himself. "No, camp wasn't canceled. I just came back for a bit, heheh. I didn't really mean to!"

"We went through a portal, didn't we Taichi?" Koromon chirped, and Hikari watched her brother's face tighten with dismay. Why would he do that?

"Koromon, ssh!" Her brother tried to clamp Koromon's mouth shut, and only managed to muffle whatever it was he was saying.

Tailmon was perking a little at those words, and Hikari patted her head. "Portal," repeated the cat, scratching one ear.

"Un!" Koromon seemed happier to be talking about it, and that Tailmon didn't look like she was about to roll on him again. Hikari hoped Taichi would stop then, because if it was important to Tailmon, it might be important to him. They had to have come from the same place.

She hadn't really  _meant_  to bring Tailmon here, just to make that person stop hurting her. Because shocking people like that wasn't nice. Then again, Hikari didn't like joy-buzzers all that much.

"It was a portal," Koromon continued, all sharp teeth and big grin. "We could smell things we were trying to hear and see smells. It was weird and cool and then we were just here in..." He paused to look at Taichi. "Toh-key-o?"

Taichi struggled not to laugh. "Yeah, buddy, that's exactly how you say it."

Hikari giggled, and Tailmon shifted in her spot. "That's not any kind of portal that I know about," she murmured, tail swishing close to Hikari's chin. She snuffled, trying not to sneeze as the cat peered at her. "Did it stay open?"

"We didn't even know it ended."

"Onii-chan?" Hikari decided to interrupt before this got too confusing, which it inevitably would. From what she could tell, Tailmon was an  _Adult_  (with a big fancy proper capital English alphabet letter to it), so it was likely she would always say rather complicated things like they were perfectly understandable and expect everyone around to know what she meant. That was a common thing for adults to do. "Do you have one of these?"

She held out the object that came from the computer and Taichi blanched. And he shouldn't do that, should he? No, he should have darker skin and a bright set of eyes and not look scared. Was this thing bad? It was supposed to help her with Tailmon. Was that a bad thing? Maybe?

Taichi looked at Tailmon, who gave him a shrug in return. So Tailmon didn't know what it was. Hikari should have asked before bringing it out. That was her mistake. She put the object down on the table and smiled, puzzled.

"Hikari..." her brother said, dragging out her name like he did whenever she went after Miko when it was dark outside and she had no flashlight. "Where did you get that?"

Hikari blinked. "It came out of the computer. Is that bad?"

"It  _what_?" Taichi raised his voice, but only a little. Onii-chan remembered. Hikari had sworn to never help him or anyone when he started yelling at people too much. "It came out of the computer?" he finished, softer now.

Hikari gave an eager nod. "It had some weird words on it. It said I wasn't safe and I had to change my destiny." She couldn't give the exact words of the message, but did she need to? "I'm supposed to save Tailmon... or something." She looked down at Tailmon, petting her head. "I dunno how I can do that, because Tailmon seems really strong and cool, but..." she frowned. "If that guy hurts you again, I want to be able to stop it."

Tailmon didn't look happy. Maybe she didn't believe her, or maybe she didn't understand her. Hikari wasn't entirely sure of the way the cat's thoughts were going, but that was okay. She didn't need to understand. She just needed to be useful and helpful and less crazy. That much she understood.

The cat lifted her head to look up. "Why?"

Hikari frowned, taking less notice of Taichi, who was doing something very funny over on the couch. She figured he was getting angry. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to stop him?"

What a strange question. "Is it wrong to want to help somebody?"

"It's odd to help a stranger," the cat said.

"Why?"

Tailmon opened her mouth, then shook her head. "I... I don't know."

Why didn't she have an answer to that?


	6. Persuasive Arguments

Chapter Six: Persuasive Arguments

"Hikari, let me check your temperature."

"Okay!"

Such an obedient human. Why? For survival, it was likely. Though the boy in front of her was related to Hikari, he was also bigger than her and healthier. Anyone with sense would not cross someone who was better equipped to survive unless they could get something good out of it, like protection. Perhaps that was it. But they -she- shouldn't look so happy about that, happy about submission for survival.

But… hadn't she been happy working for  _him_?

"Tailmon?"

The cat swung her legs from her spot on the couch. Honestly, she wanted to go back to sleep, it had been weeks since she had slept as peacefully as she had in that bed, but… she didn't want to leave Hikari by herself. Call it a motherly instinct… if she was even  _capable_ of that, but something said leaving this human alone as damaged as she was was asking for something horrible.

But was she damaged?

That was what disturbed her, she realized as she let Hikari come over and scratch behind a painful itch behind her left ear. Hikari certainly accepted being damaged, and the way that her "brother" looked at her seemed to say he was always worried about her. But was she? She was different. She could read Tailmon's mind.

But damaged?

"Tai-i-n."

Her ears shifted and she looked to where Taichi was staring. He was shaking, horrified, as the computer screen blurred and fizzled before revealing a blank-eyed human boy.

 _More_ humans were aware of their world?

How many could there be?

_"Don't come back, Taichi-san."_

Oh, that wasn't ominous.

"All is well," the boy said. "Don't come back."

The image vanished.

Taichi stood there for a moment. "Taichi..." murmured Koromon.

The human said nothing, then he scowled, fist clenching and body trembling. The object in his hand had gone blissfully quiet, only to clack to the floor moments later.

Tailmon frowned, and padded back to where Hikari was back on the couch. This had nothing to do with her, not really. If it would help her get back to her world, that was one thing.

But that sounded personal. Best to leave well-enough alone.

Hikari was holding that weird device again. She still had no clue what it was, nor was she quite sure what it was for. At the sight of Tailmon, however, she smiled and held it out to her. "Want to see?"

A part of her brain wanted to make the snippy answer, but she raised her gloved paw over it anyway. Humor the human who thought she was crazy. Bet that didn't happen very often.

A gentle shock jolted through her fur, standing each hair on end. The strange device began to shine yellow and a warmth like the sun washed over her. She looked at Hikari, whose brown eyes suddenly seem a bit red and bright, but her smile remained vacant and sweet until surprise trailed up her face. Then, the light was gone.

Tailmon plopped back on her bottom, but for once it didn't hurt. The warm feeling tingled from her paws to her nose and all the way back to her tail. She stared up at Hikari, horrorstruck. The girl only looked back, expression mild, concerned. Something wasn't right, something was bubbling, something hidden in her mind so far back it hurt to even know it was there.

"Who... are you?"

Hikari looked at her with confusion. "Tailmon?"

"Who are you?" She repeated, voice rising. The cat saw the human wince and felt guilty, but fear was churning in her stomach more than that. "Why are you in my head?"

Tailmon watched Hikari's expression shift, moving toward that blankness she had only seen once. "I don't know," she said, her voice small. "I'm just Hikari. I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Tailmon felt her adrenaline rising again. "You  _have_ to know," she repeated, flinching at the desperation in her own voice. "You brought me here."

Hikari shook her young head, and the fear mounted. She doesn't know. She's too young to lie, she doesn't know.

Then why did that device say…?

"Who are you to me?" she said, ears lowering slowly. "Please… I need to know. Please…"

Hikari slowly walked over and Tailmon visibly flinched, anxiety running her paws to almost trip backwards and fall, but she failed when Hikari knelt to look at her. "I am… your friend, Tailmon."

"Friends die," she said.  _Die, betray, hurt, that's what friends do, that is friendship, that means you will do nothing but hurt me._

Hikari sat on her heels. "Everyone dies, Tailmon. I'm sorry."

Her voice sounded so sad, and for a reason she didn't understand it hurt Tailmon's heart to hear her say that even though she was very little and fragile. Those were very brittle, old words that should not have been spoken right now.

"Then will everyone be as horrible as I am?"

That wasn't the right question, but the right one was too much vulnerability at once.

It seemed like Hikari knew that question anyway. "I won't go away if you don't want me to."

The weird device chimed warmly, for her ears alone, and whispered.  _She is yours, you are hers. Your search is over._

When had she been searching for anything?

...

Taichi didn't like this.

The Digimon in front of his sister was quiet now, not docile exactly, but meek. It-she- seemed to expect a blow, and since his sister couldn't even hurt flies without looking sad, it wasn't happening any time soon. He wasn't sure what about that he didn't like, except for the fact that his sister had a Digimon at all.

Because that was the only reason she would have a Digivice. And that wasn't okay.

For a moment, he thought of his friends, back in the other world. What would they say if he brought them along? Would they even care? Probably would, if only because it would be another mouth to feed and another person to tag along with and keep an eye on. Even so, Tailmon was an Adult level, a naturally stuck there Adult level. That was something enemies had, normally.

Well, Koushiro would have a fit from that.

Though, seriously, what was up with him? It wasn't like he wanted to go back… but everyone was still over there. The phone calls had proved that. Didn't that tell him what he had to do?

But what about Hikari? Hikari, who looked so happy with Tailmon, well as much as she ever looked really happy about things. Could he bring her with and risk her life?

Good god, he was starting to sound like as much of a worrywart as Yamato. That was a terrifying thought.

Though he was probably going to get worse if she did. She was sick after all. Sick and tired, he bet. But… she seemed happy.

Tailmon made her happy. What was he supposed to do about that? Take her away? She'd probably never forgive him. Or she would, which might be even worse.

"Hey, Koromon," he said quietly. "What do you think I should do?"

Koromon shifted in his lap, where he had been dozing off. "I think Taichi should do what his heart tells him to do."

Taichi scowled. "Helpful, buddy. Thanks!"

"Taichi already knows what he's going to do," Koromon pointed out with a shrug of his ears. "I'm just here to support him until the end."

"Doesn't that feel wrong to you?"

Koromon and Tailmon stared at each other from across the room. The cat didn't look angry, but the meekness was long gone, replaced with a foreign, rather grown-up emotion, a fear of some kind.

Well, kids knew fear… but adults may know something different, something he couldn't put to words yet. Even though he was an adult to Hikari, he was still a kid to himself.

Koromon scrunched his lips, seeming puzzled. "I dunno why it would," he said finally. "I was born for Taichi. And you were born for Hikari, weren't you?"

Tailmon flinched, shaking her head with vehemence a second later. "I… I don't know about that."

"Why not?"

"I… I just…" Tailmon's ears drooped down.

"Koromon."

Hikari stroked Tailmon's fur. She wasn't really smiling, her expression was tired, but her eyes stood out against her flushed skin. "Please stop."

To Taichi's surprise, his partner did.

For a few minutes, they were silent as Taichi flopped back onto the couch. "It's too hot for me to think about things," he decided. Hikari giggled, then actually laughed when Koromon jumped onto his stomach. "Koromon! You feel like a sack of cinderblock!"

"Can I eat that?"

"Not if you don't want to get sick!" he cried, and Hikari kept laughing, up until she started to cough.

And the coughing didn't stop.

"Hikari!" Taichi vaulted himself over the couch to try and help but soon spit was sinking into the carpet at the spit was starting to be flecked with red. Tailmon had fallen to the floor and she didn't seem to care when Hikari tumbled after her, looking horribly frightened.

_Of course she doesn't know what's going on. Can Digimon get sick?_

The answer to that question didn't really seem to matter, because iridescent light began to glow from Hikari's skin as she coughed.

Outside, there was a scream of metal and concrete as something large fell onto their balcony, something that glared with beady red eyes.


	7. Destructive Tendencies

Chapter Seven: Destructive Tendencies

Reflexes on all sides kicked in. Koromon was bouncing forward, shooting bubbles like he was a BB gun and the target was circular and ringed when he was really was a giant monster with large teeth and a drill for a nose and its roaring suddenly made their balcony tremble and Taichi pulled his sister into his arms as her body shuddered, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Tailmon looked between them, cringing as she wanted to move forward and punch the monster away but also go and protect the fallen girl.

Why? She ought to run, she had gotten what she needed. if she stayed, she would just get caught up in all of this, whatever this was.

Except answers. She still needed many, many answers.

Some part of the back of her mind told her she couldn't get them somewhere else, especially in a world that she didn't know and that there was unlikely to be a way home from. That caused her to stop, and move closer to Hikari. She balled her worn paws and realized in horror that she was the strongest thing they had and she was veering towards half-dead.

Not that that even made the Koromon bat an eye. He jumped up and shot more bubbles and she heard the creature howl because soap was in its eye.

"Run!" Taichi had picked up Hikari and was running himself, bolting down the stairs and away from the giant monster of drills that was ruining their apartment. Koromon did not however, deciding to lead it out the window. "Koromon, what are you doing?"

"Taichi, get out of there!" Koromon squealed, knocked aside out the window.

"Koromon!"

There was no answer and Tailmon hesitated briefly, wounds twinging, before straightening. "I'll go after them." She didn't know why; it fought against every survival mechanism rewritten (rewritten?) into her data but she went anyway, Holy Ring glowing in the light of the sky. She thought she heard Hikari call out but ignored it, claws slicing into fur. She heard it snarl and broke away, leaping to find Koromon dizzily plopped on a lamp post. "Get yourself together!"

He blinked and recovered himself. "Right! Sorry!"

Tailmon scoffed. Some protector.

Meanwhile, ignoring Hikari's soft, squeaking protests through coughs, Taichi managed to sweep her sandals from the doorway and run outside, carrying her and his Digivice in his arms. "Hold your Digivice," he barked as he ran and she nodded through quiet coughs. He was getting her to the doctor's after this, if the hospital  _had_ any explanation for glowing lights during colds. At this point, Koushiro would know better than they did.

But he couldn't think about Koushiro right now. That would be a distraction he didn't need.

He hurried down the stairs, feeling Hikari shifting. "We're gonna be alright," He said firmly, toying with his goggles. "All of us."

"And the apartment?" Hikari mumbled. "Miko's there."

Taichi almost cursed. Hikari loved that cat more than the food she ate and the clothes on her back. Then he saw the tabby running down the stairs ahead of them, yowling like a devil was chasing her, and managed a relieved sigh. he jumped the rest of the stairs and winced at the sting in his knees. Then, he kept running, aware of the sound of screams, of ripped asphalt and concrete crashing into poles and store windows. He grimaced and set Hikari down.

"Koromon," he shouted.

The pink blob's response was from above, on a dangling traffic light. "Taichi! Stay back!"

"Stay back?" Taichi repeated incredulously as the Digimon began to crawl out of the crater it had created. "That thing can turn you into a tinkertoy!"

"What's a tinkertoy?" A claw ripped through the pole and Koromon screeched, falling towards shrapnel and the drill of a nose. Tailmon moved in the way, tackling the other away from a large swipe.

"If you're not going to fight, get out of the way!" she shouted, turning back with a lashing tail and cold eyes. The creature seemed to let out a laugh, slamming one paw down. Tailmon caught it and struggled to force it up and off. The bandages, loose around her chest, began to darken a shade of red. She grit her teeth, gasping in pain.

"Tailmon!" Hikari bolted forward as her strength ebbed and threw them both out of the way.

Taichi winced as the smoke cleared. "Hikari, are you two alright?"

Hikari's answer was fast and free of coughing. "Yeah! We're okay, Onii-chan!" She looked down at Tailmon, red eyes concerned. "You… you are okay, right?" Tailmon nodded and Hikari smiled, "Great!" She went quiet again as the Digimon lifted itself back up, Her eyes widened and she went to look for a place to hide. Koromon pounced on the enemy.

"Pick on someone your own strength, you- gah!"

Tailmon looked up at the sound of Hikari's scream as Koromon went tumbling back, red dripping from his forehead. The little Digimon quivered as his human ran to him, and Hikari coughed. She was trying to stand up. The cat felt her brain shout that that was a stupid thing to do, the Drimogemon (because her memories had finally kicked in and reminded her) but her legs were stiff and refused to move. Hikari managed the feat, coughing behind one hand. The spit was clear, but Tailmon didn't think the human girl even seemed to notice. She wiped her mouth and kept walking, face set on the Drimogemon, whose nose had started to spin.

"Hikari, what are you doing, run!" Taichi's shout was choked, torn between protecting his sister and holding his partner. It didn't seem to matter; Hikari kept walking towards the Digimon. Her red eyes were set, renounced, and being dwarfed and without protection didn't seem to matter.

"You're going to stop," she said, and beneath her bare feet, something began to ripple and spark. "You broke everything, and hurt Tailmon and Koromon. They didn't want to hurt you!" Anger, blue embers of passionate fury in the pit of her stomach. "But you attacked us and you're going to stop that right  _now_!"

From a distance, that tirade was little more than a fly mocking the frog with its mouth open. In the sunlight, all the people cowering behind rubble or peering through building windows could see was a little girl staring down a giant monster.

What Tailmon and Taichi saw was the little girl lighting up like a star in the darkness, light without any specific color in mind, turning her white from top to toes. Even her red eyes were nothing more than pale pink.

Hikari coughed again, the glow intensifying, bright enough now that anyone watching could see it burn. the Drimogemon's form wavered as it took a step forward. By the next lurch, it solidified once more and the drills spun towards her head.

Tailmon bolted forward, fist smacking the nose drill down and away from Hikari's forehead. with a screech of raw fury, she backflipped up into the air. On her tail, her ring shone with light, sparking with power that burst within seconds. Some made cracks in the asphalt, but most struck Drimogemon in the back.

He roared and Koromon started to squirm.

"Taichi, I need to go!" He leaped from his partner's arms before he could even say no. "Evolve me, Taichi! We're going to protect Hikari, right?"

Taichi felt the slow grin spread over his face and nodded, running forward. He clenched his Digivice in one hand and thought for a moment of just  _how_ they would do that.

He saw Koromon shine as Hikari continued to stare up at the fight, eyes wide but purpose unforgotten. Taichi reached her as Agumon landed in front of them, releasing flames.

"Again, Agumon, you think you can do it?"

Agumon nodded and his green eyes squeezed shut.

Taichi thought if Agumon could evolve, things could be all right.

Then, the sky split open like a yawning child and they began to float away.


	8. Chapter Eight: The Other Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I didn't forget this fic, no I didn't. Finally! Now to do Balladic... again. Goodness. A few more updates left!I'm sorry to anyone who is following me. Your inbox is probably wrecked. I'm sorry!
> 
> As always, please enjoy!

_**Chapter Eight: The Other Side** _

Tailmon scrambled in midair, unconsciously searching for a handhold. Agumon caught her by the tail and she would have hit him if she could have because you just don't grab a cat's tail, idiot! She managed to maneuver herself closer to Hikari, who was simply floating there, hands loose at her sides, eyes wide and actually thrown off-balance.

"Tailmon, we're flying…" Her voice was full of wonder and Tailmon briefly wondered if a piece of concrete had hit the girl on the head. Then she mentally kicked herself when Hikari spun her body around, looking concerned. "Onii-chan! Where are you?"

"Hikari!" He lunged and grabbed her, trying to drag them down but to no avail. Taichi looked down at his Digivice, the screen sparkling green,and pulled Hikari tighter. to him. "Just hold onto me." She wrapped one arm around him and nodded, reaching for Tailmon. Then her eyes widened.

"Tailmon, down there!" They looked down to see the Drimogemon looming closer to them. Those clearly weren't supposed to fly, as it was making motions like swimming in midair. One of its drill claws lifted to crash onto her back. Agumon dove, rolling Tailmon away from the swooping claw. Tailmon winced at the pressure on her torso and gestured for Agumon to throw her. Agumon didn't hesitate, and thank god. He swung her low with one muscular arm. She raised her fist as she dove, hitting Drimogemon right between the eyes. It roared and flailed, grimacing at the small flames Agumon shot at its face. It lunged for them again and Agumon fired, but too late to avoid crashing into Tailmon.

The recoil sent her spinning up and she raised her tail. The ring around it shone gold and she swung it in an arc, sending dazzling light into Drimogemon's stomach. It howled and began to dissolve into purple mist.

Taichi hadn't even had time to cover Hikari's eyes before it had faded away.

Just like that, his sister had just seen a Digimon die.

The girl reached out and caught the cat in her arms. She stroked the white fur and smiled a little. He watched her face, and decided to let it go for the moment. But he would ask later, when they weren't floating.

"Mom and Dad are gonna be mad," Hikari said after a minute.

"If we're lucky, we'll get back before they do," Taichi muttered. He kept a hand in Hikari's hair as their world flooded with light.

When the world turned again, it was like nothing had happened at all.

* * *

Wizarmon dusted off his ratty hat and wiped blood from above his eye. Then he smiled, pretending he hadn't just been struck with a whip to the head. Again. The master was in a mood. He tended to be in one, but this was particularly low. Between Tailmon disappearing and some odd children running wild in the Digital World, he supposed a future evil overlord couldn't be good-natured in private.

He was surprised none of those humans had died yet.

Wizarmon wiped the blood again. It was a shame his healing spells only worked with curses. Horribly inconvenient.

He raised his staff and lifted himself from the ground. Hovering up to the rafters, Wizarmon regarded the forest below. None of the humans had made it here. Considering Pico Devimon's lack of reports, which could mean everything or very little, they could be on their front door at this very moment.

Perhaps he should assist in making sure that doesn't happen. He always was a fool for mischief.

"Vamdemon-sama," he called in a soft voice as he returned to the rooms below. "Permission to investigate the outside?"

There was silence.

Wizarmon took it as a yes and prepared to leave. His aqua eyes sparkled as he took to the sky. Perhaps this time, he would retrieve Tailmon. Perhaps, this time, they would have a fun dance.

He never understood why the master hated her eyes. He rather thought them beautiful.

* * *

"I got sand in my snout! It burns!"

Tailmon flattened her ears to her head, half to prevent sand from burrowing in her ears, and half so she didn't have to deal with Agumon screaming as much. Taichi was torn between laughing and sympathy, and he settled for awkwardly patting his partner's nose. Hikari played with her hood, keeping her head bowed in the wind. The girl peered at herself, at the too long sleeves and baggy pants. It was like a little kid tracksuit, even with shoes. It was weird to no longer be in her pajamas, especially since she hadn't asked for new clothes. She didn't mind though, they were rather nice. Comfy, less sandy.

"Why did we fall into Server Desert?" Tailmon muttered under her breath. And during storm season, no less! They had to pick the worst timing, didn't they? Her wound gave a faint twinge and she looked down, expecting blood after that fight. She tugged at one bandage and was relieved to find none. She took ginger steps forward in the sand. "We need to get to shelter or get out of here as quickly as we can. The wind will get worse pretty soon."

"It can get worse?" Taichi shouted before spitting out sand. "Come on, Hikari, let's get out of here before we end up like Agumon."

Hikari nodded, taking his hand through her sleeve. As she did, something dropped onto the ground. "Ah..." she knelt and scooped it up. Tailmon's nose twitched. That talking device again. Its screen remained blank and Hikari regarded it with puzzled concern.

Taichi reached and paused, then squeezed her shoulder. "Let's figure it out later, okay? We already have enough junk in our heads; we don't need this place either."

Hikari muffled a giggle with her too long black sleeve and went after him.

Tailmon peered around them for a moment before doing the same. Agumon remained in front, still spitting sand. Tailmon had seen the desert like this sometimes, somewhat angry and wild, but never this empty. The Drimogemon tunneled people through here, caravans were always by. But now it was quiet, and stank of a smell like the darkness Vamdemon has inhabited.

Wasn't Etemon supposed to be here?

She frowned and scratched one ear. No, that kid said he had beaten him. Somehow. So, had Vamdemon merely taken that place back?

* * *

Vamdemon closed a book and reshelved it. The expression he wore was the closest thing to a smile he ever managed.

"Well," he mused, looking at the illusion of a window that he offered himself. "That certainly saved me some time."

The signal had Eighth had jumped the gun, perhaps?

He could drag the child, kicking and screaming, beckoning his minions to hunt it down until they were little more than scrap data. He could find it himself and rip it to shreds. Humans left corpses, and it would make an excellent banner.

Those were unrefined plans, back ups for if the fun ended too soon. No, he had a much more entertaining idea.

He would have to call back Wizarmon, of course. The new orders might even please him.

As the vampire started to hum, a pink light sparkled from his wall. The Crest of Light hummed with agitation, but that was all.

"So one eighth arrives, so will the other."


	9. A World of Connections

Taichi dragged himself under the hollow of a tree with a drained sigh. "Oh thank god it's over!"

Tailmon raised an eyebrow, but that was all. She uncurled her large ears with a grimace, shaking herself to get rid of all of the sand. When done, she glanced at Hikari. She was drooping a little, sleepy. Her shoes were already starting to wear and she was covered in sand. There was a dull thudding in the back of Tailmon's head. Maybe it showed how exhausted she was. She stumbled over to Taichi and curled against his chest. Taichi's eyes flickered with concern and he patted her head.

"You okay?"

Hikari lifted her head, managing a smile. "Un, tired a bit..."

"Well, we did walk all that way..." Agumon said, sniffing around. "I'll go find some sticks..."

Tailmon tried and failed to not roll her eyes. He had missed his human's wince, but Tailmon, after decades of reading her master's moods, had not. Guilt, thick like storm clouds. "I will go try and fish and gather some water. I thought i smelled a stream on our way here."

Taichi nodded and Hikari peered at her through the fabric of her hood. "Be careful."

Tailmon paused, as if touching the words with her paws. "...I will. Thank you."

She hurried away, blinking any possible tears. What a silly thing to be overwhelmed by. Simple words like  _be careful_. When she was out of sight, she took two breaths, then a third. Then she checked her bandages. Cleaner, which was good, not much sand had gotten in. Still. It'd do her good to go wash them out in the stream. She needed to check her muscles for how they were doing after the electric blasts she had taken. It wasn't that long ago, or was it?

She wound her way up a tree. She was no monkey, true, but she could hide in the trees perfectly well. She moved from branch to branch until she could hear the gentle slosh of water. Tailmon paused, leaning against the trunk to catch her breath. She opened her ears, crouching and slowing her breathing. So far, it was quiet. No unusual scents, no unusual smells. When Etemon ruled the Server Desert, most Digimon tried to steer clear of the whole continent all together. The monkey was an idiot, but he was also a sadistic idiot. The Gazimon were rarely seen without a jolt over their fur or wire tying their ears or legs. However, even he cowered before her own former master. If that nutjob knew terror, then all the more reason to get out of dodge.

If only she had been smart enough, fast enough, to do the same. She had been a Child-level, the world always needed those.

Tailmon let out a noiseless sigh. She really did think on the past too much. She watched the stream for a moment, then gently scampered down to the soft earth. Her claws scraped the ground, but she doubted the fish would notice. She crouched low, then leaped. The hunt was on.

* * *

That night, they had wanted to argue over who stood watch. Hikari had settled it by falling asleep on Agumon's leg. Taichi took first watch without a word then, which Tailmon was quietly grateful for. She let herself curl up by the fire. Perhaps it was the exhaustion of the past few days, but she slept like a log until it was time for her watch.

There, she dreamed. She dreamed of gloved hands carding through her fur and the lash of red. She dreamed of years drenched in snow and curling up in lonely caves. Last of all, she dreamed of tiny fingers tying bandages around her waist and careful brushes of her ears. In her, sleep, it was easy to believe she had always had the last happen to her over the first two, and that she had no scars.

When Agumon woke her, she almost clawed his face off. She barely managed to look apologetic, mumbling gracelessly and stalking closer to the fire. He hadn't looked surprised, only yawned and gone back besides Hikari. She looked up at the stars, letting her mind clear and her soldier wit take focus. If someone showed up, she was the best one to hear it.

The ache in her muscles made her want to sleep. Discipline forced her eyes open and she made herself stand and stretch. She paced around the fire, lashing her tail out in experimental swings. It wasn't strong without her Holy Ring on, so she was never supposed to lose it, but that was fine. Tails were for balance. The ring glowed in the firelight

A yawn pulled her from her practice. "Tail...mon?"

She looked over to see Hikari yawning, eyes sleepy and half-closed. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Hikari grunted, a breathy noise. "It's okay, slept too long."

Tailmon sincerely doubted that. "Need me to lead you to the bush?"

"Mmhm..."

Tailmon was half-sure she hadn't even heard, but took her tiny hand anyway. She led her away from the fire, keeping it within running distance. Hikari was still rubbing her eyes, barely even protesting when she nearly hit the tree. Tailmon turned away to offer privacy. As she did, however, she saw something a few feet away.

In the dark, for ordinary eyes, it should have been impossible to make out. Tailmon, thankfully, had no such issues. She slunk into a silent crouch, creeping through the grass. For a moment, Hikari was forgotten. There was a threat. The threat had to be eliminated.

As she came closer, the creature's breathing quickened, and she saw stubby legs and a white body. Tailmon paused. The Digimon was out like a light. Pouncing could make things worse. She took slower steps and frowned.

Why was a Tokomon here?

Baby levels stayed on File. They couldn't survive well anywhere else. Had this Digimon died here and been reborn? How unlucky. She came close enough to shake him and blinked.

What were those? Those trinkets...

Hikari had one. Her... brother had one.

"Tailmon?"

Hikari had caught up, her rose eyes bright in the dark. "What's wrong?" Tailmon pointed as the creature began to mumble. Hikari knelt beside the Digimon and scooped him up, only noticing the trinkets when they hit the ground. "We need to go back to Onii-chan."

Tailmon nodded and lifted the little things into her paws. A gentle wave of fear struck her then. Fear, confusion, dismay. Was it her own? Was It Hikari's? Was it both of theirs?

Any of those answers was right. They had every reason to be afraid.


	10. Chapter 10

When the little Digimon awoke, he was met with a crackling fire and many pairs of eyes. Tokomon almost jumped out of his skin. He bared his rows and rows of teeth and looked around the rather diminutive circle until he saw two familiar faces. "Taichi? Agumon?" His ears spread a little, then retracted. "What are you doing here? You're alive!"

Taichi managed a smile. "Tokomon, you're all right!" Well, aside from having passed out and clearly hungry.

"Course I am!" The little Digimon wiggled his legs and made himself get up, sniffing for the dried meat and fruit left on a nearby leaf. "I was just tired. It's hard to be strong without Takeru around…" As he said the name the little Digimon drooped like a sad dog. At the sight of Hikari, however, he perked right up again, pausing to chew and swallow a berry. "Hiya!" he said. "Who are you?"

"This is my sister, Hikari," Taichi explained. Then he gestured, though his brow furrowed, at the white cat in her lap. "And this is Tailmon." Hikari waved and Tailmon's ears twitched but she didn't leave the warmth of Hikari's lap. She was too tired to do so.

"Hello!" Tokomon's weary voice was still managing to sound undeniably happy, and he went over to Hikari, plopping himself by her knee. She reached out and pet him before she could stop herself. "I had a fight with Takeru," he told her. "Cause he made a new friend… and that friend didn't like me much and he caught us fighting. So i left and now I'm hungry and tired but without Takeru…" The little digimon curled up small enough for Hikari to pick him up and put him in the remaining space in her lap.

_Without him, it doesn't seem that important._

Tailmon heard the words even though they weren't spoken, and her stomach agreed with it somehow. It made her a little nauseous, truth be told. The baby actually sounded depressed without a human. How disturbing was that? Wasn't that a sign of how dangerous this whole thing was? How dangerous humans were? They could cause a Digimon to give up on living just by fighting with them!

 _Being close is dangerous_ , Tailmon reminded herself. _Relationships are failures before they even start. They are painful. They will end. With fire and blood._

Hikari's fingers played with Tailmon's ears as she thought about these things, being uncomfortably distracting. Once again, it was like she knew or something. It was rather unnerving to be honest. She didn't say so, however. That might mean she would have to move. That did not sound exciting. Or helpful.

She didn't want to admit it, but Hikari's warmth was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Taichi grimaced, kneeling by the little Digimon. "Tokomon… the fight couldn't have been that bad, right?"

Tokomon shrugged his ears, one of those things Tailmon realized was kind of odd for a human to look at. "Yamato-san and the others left us behind after you didn't come bac, and they don't want anything to do with Takeru anymore. That was what Takeru heard from PicoDevimon and i didn't think it was true. I guess my opinion wasn't important after that."

"It should have been," Taichi said quietly and for some reason, Tailmon didn't want to ask about he patted Agumon's snout and earned a small, somewhat cheeky grin. "Friends fight and all but still. Your opinion is still important."

"Not in a dictatorship," Tailmon deadpanned. Hikari made a noise that sounded like admonishment. Taichi shot her a look at the same time, but that made her quail much less than Hikari's sound and she didn't know why. Probably because Hikari didn't sound upset.

Tokomon yawned. "It's okay, Taichi. I'll go talk to him soon. After I get full again."

Taichi shook his head. "We're all gonna go over there tomorrow. We need to get some rest after today and this is a good camping spot.. Then tomorrow, you all will talk this out and I'll keep it from getting rough. Sound good?"

Tokomon nodded, black eyes wide and kind of hopeful. For a moment, Tailmon felt sick with envy.

She didn't want this though, did she? She knew where it would end up.

She knew where she would be.

* * *

The rest of Tailmon's night was quiet, occasionally marred by bad dreams and odd thoughts. She stayed in Hikari's hold, much as her body said not to, much as her brain wanted her to run and hide far away and out of the inevitable dark storm. She was not in Vamdemon's favor anymore, if she really ever had been to begin with. (She must have been or she would be dead by now. She would have been murdered by the guy personally for getting as close as she had.) Hikari's arms chased that away in their own way, and before the sky began to warm, she was able to relax and close her eyes for a few more hours.

When she woke, she was on Hikari's head. Tailmon made to protest and squirm free. She hadn't even been awake enough to ask!

Hikari at least looked a little embarrassed. "You seemed really tired so I thought it would help if you got some more sleep. And you fought really hard too…"

"I'd carry Agumon if he wasn't two bricks shy of a metric ton," Taichi said with a grin. Agumon shook his head in defiance.

"I need to walk," Agumon declared with a grin. "It is good for your thighs and calves."

Also, Tailmon noticed belatedly, Tokomon was in Taichi's arms, pointing the way with his stubby legs. The only way to carry that dinosaur anywhere would have been by the tail, and she wouldn't wish that herculean effort on anyone.

As they walked, something tugged at the back of Tailmon's mind. It was something the walking teeth monster had said. A name. The digimon who was saying cruel things to his partner… she knew of someone who only had one good point: their words. He floundered at everything else.

Tailmon's eyes went wide as they reached the carnival. She knew then. As they walked, her fur itched. Beneath her claw gloves, her paws ached with memories of ripped off claws. She knew that black ball of failure anywhere. She saw him on top of a food table, waving his wings excitedly to a small blond child. She didn't really care about that.

"You," she hissed. She spun in Hikari's arms and lunged for PicoDevimon, intending to kill. She felt a sick pleasure at the way his eyes went wide.


End file.
